Week of November 14-20
Each week we focus on illegal immigrants committing heinous crimes, such as murder and child rape, on U.S. soil. In this issue, we are going to change things up a little and focus on the accomplishments of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), just to reinforce the importance of that agency.
Alejandro Maldonado-Hernandez
Failure to Co-operate
To put a little perspective into how sanctuary cities are impeding the success of ICE, let’s start off by looking at the manhunt for 20-year-old Alejandro Maldonado-Hernandez. This fugitive was able to flee to Mexico after allegedly causing a motor vehicle accident that left one woman dead because authorities did not honor the detainer ICE had set upon him. The incident occurred in Portland, OR, a sanctuary city.
On the same day as the July accident, Maldonado-Hernandez was arrested and booked into the Washington County jail, where he was charged with felony manslaughter in the second degree, felony assault in the third degree, and misdemeanor reckless driving. In August, the prison released Maldonado-Hernandez without notifying ICE, despite the detainer placed on him. In a statement, Nathalie Asher, Seattle field office director for ICE’s enforcement and removal operations, said:
“It is a real slap in the face to the victims [sic] friends and family when criminal aliens, in this case a man who has caused the death of a woman and severe injuries to her husband, are released into the community due to dangerous sanctuary policies. How many lives have to be lost before politicians are more concerned about public safety and their own political agendas?”
Although this crime took place a few months ago, the agency has recently posted another notice about it because the suspect is still at large.
Politicians claim they are protecting their citizens – and even the illegal aliens – by not cooperating with immigration enforcement, but as ICE said:
“It is safer for everyone if ICE takes custody of an alien in the controlled environment of another law enforcement agency as opposed to visiting an alien’s residence, place of work, or other public area. Arresting a criminal in the safety, security, and privacy of a jail is always the best option.”
The Reality of “Sanctuary”
Another criminal alien was released despite an ICE detainer in Philadelphia – this time, however, the agency was able to capture the individual and remove him from the United States. Ioan Flore had already been convicted of an “injury causing death, manslaughter, or murder” in his home country, Romania. He was sentenced to five years and five months in prison during August 2015 but escaped and fled to the U.S.
On Jan. 28, 2018, Flore was arrested by the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) after being caught trying to withdraw money from an ATM with a debit card that didn’t belong to him. Officers discovered 68 debit and credit cards in his possession that were not lawfully issued to the man. On Jan. 29, ICE lodged a detainer, but the PPD released the suspect that very same day without notice. Luckily, ICE located Flore that night, and he served more than a year in jail for identity theft. On Nov. 19, 2019, he was removed to Romania and transferred to that country’s authorities.
Here we have examples of one suspect who is still on the loose and another who was caught and brought to justice, even though both men were released by local authorities. The left has raised the fear flag so high that many people only see ICE as monsters determined to separate children from their families. However, the agency doesn’t just deport individuals who are in the country illegally; they primarily go after aliens involved in drug trafficking, sexual abuse of children, human smuggling, and a host of other dangerous crimes.
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Read more from Kelli Ballard.
